Staff Council Meeting Minutes
Friday, March 13, 2009

Call to order 8:10am. Quorum reached at 8:38 am.

Approval of Staff Council Agenda. No approval, no quorum.

Approval of Staff Council Minutes of February 13, 2009. No approval, no quorum.

Announcements

Barbara Sinclair announced that the WASC team was here last week. They were impressed by us and there were several meetings on campus. There was a preparatory meeting for staff. There was also the President’s Forum on International Human Rights on campus.

Barbara Sinclair announced that the PCSW Colloquium will be held on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at The Pointe. Dr. Judith Stevenson will present her research titled “When Mommas Were Ripe” which examines the struggle against apartheid. Dr. Colleen Dunagan will present her research titled “Consumption as Choreography” which examined how advertisers merged dance and pedestrian movement.

Barbara Sinclair announced the Women and Careers Conference will be held today in the USU ballroom. This is an opportunity for students to get a perspective from a women's view and listen to women from different fields. There were 175 reservations as of today. It’s open to everyone especially students.

Dr. Pam Ashe introduced graduate assistant Alejandro Hinojosa. Dr. Ashe talked about the Safe Zone Project which has been in existence for 5-6 years. The Safe Zone Project is a training program for faculty and staff to be allies to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students on campus. The training will be Wednesday, April 8, 2009 from 8:15am – 12:30pm. Staff and faculty are invited to get training for the Safe Zone Project. You will receive a decal to put in your office to show that you’ve been trained as a safe zone ally. The training is for one-half day and once completed you will be part of the ally network.

Sharon Olson announced there will be a Study Abroad Expo next Tuesday, March 17th at The Maxson Plaza from 11am – 3pm. Forty representatives will be on campus. There are still spaces available for the summer for staff to go abroad.

Committee Reports

Membership: Berta Hanson reported there are no new members.

Special Events: Berta Hanson reported there are 7 outside vendors and 3 campus vendors that have reserved tables for the Staff Day Event so far. If you are interested in having a table at the Staff Day Event please contact Berta Hanson.

Ways and Means: Charles Greenwood reported he has50/50 raffle tickets to distribute for sale. The cost is $1 per ticket and he has 20 tickets per envelope for Staff Council members to sell.

More Announcements

Berta Hanson announced that today is the first full meeting of the Student Health Advisory Committee.

Barbara Sinclair announced that the Campus Goals are finally in place. There is inclusion of sustainability and green issues for construction and landscaping.

Barbara Sinclair announced that next month’s Staff Council meeting will be by Lynne Coenen, Director of the Women’s Resource Center. Lynne’s presentation is about Project Safe, a coalition of on and off campus resources, which provides information to address sexual violence on campus. The project is in its third year. There will be a PowerPoint presentation.

Regina Cash announced the MODS (Masters of Dance Seminar) will be held in the Pyramid on Saturday March 28, 2009 from 8am – 4pm. Please contact Cindy Nathan at 562-985-8839 for more information.

Anne Ambrose announced there will be an International Conference on Japanese gardens outside Japan starting March 26 – 29, 2009. This event is collaboration between CSULB and The College of the Arts. The conference will be held at the Long Beach Hilton hotel. Tours are sold out.

Berta Hanson announced that the Staff Services Award ceremony will be May 14, 2009. If anyone in your area is receiving an award please encourage them to take photo.

Barbara Sinclair announced that we need to elect a staff representative to the FACT Committee.

Berta Hanson announced there will be a writing workshop with Dr. Rodriguez on April 12th and another Ins and Outs of the classification process workshop. All workshops are held from 9am – 11am.

A question was asked if computer classes are available? Berta Hanson responded that we’re trying to buy more coupons for computer classes. Berta also announced that the ITS department is offering more computer training. Just contact her with questions. Every month there will be retirement training.

Sharon Olson– Is there Beachboard training for staff? Leslie Kennedy indicated that training was provided on request. Blackboard runs Beachboard but they’re switching to Angel but Beachboard will remain. Call x 51022 Leslie Kennedy if you have additional questions.

Special Orders

Time Certain: President Alexander – 9:00 am

President Alexander discussed more issues about the California budget. The secretary asked for public comment and to send an email to the treasurer regarding the budget. President asked that CSULB employees send an email to the treasurer indicating that we know CA will receive 10 billion and if not it will be devastating. Cdiac_education@tresurer.ca.gov

The fee issues have been moved to the May discussion. There is good discussion in Washington, D.C. about education. There is 1500 addition dollars in Pell Grants. There is a national call for direct lending. The university will not send applications to banks. We will work with the Department of Education. This is the first time we have implemented a waiting list to better reach our target. Tonight on ESPN 2 the Long Beach State Men’s basketball team will be playing in the NCAA Tournament. CSULB will be taking three buses of students to the game. About four cars have been stolen on campus. The incident(s) were spotted on campus cameras. The numbers are down for car theft and burglaries mainly due to cameras and signs posted.

Sharon Olson had a question regarding loans. Do completed FAFSA applications go to the Department of Education? President Alexander responded that now we do not have to bid out to lenders. Lenders may be changing their policies. We had restrictions that run out in 2012. They may start changing fees, interest rates, etc. next fall and this will be in effect. No lender (bank) - there will be direct lending. President Alexander thanked everyone who helped with the WASC review. They were expecting to find an impersonal campus but were surprised by the closeness of students, faculty, and staff. Thanks for your help on the President’s Forum on International Human Rights. They are working on developing next year’s theme and need ideas.